Book Cover of Birgit Jürgenssen by Gabriele Schor and Abigail Solomon-Godeau. Available in the Hundred Heroines Library.
1949 – 2003
Austrian artist of the feminist avant-garde
Birgit Jürgenssen (1949-2003) was an Austrian artist who used multiple disciplines to express her feminist views. Born in Vienna, she began experimenting with drawing and photography from a young age. After school, she developed her field of interest, becoming particularly affiliated with surrealism, psychoanalysis and social criticism, all of which likely influenced her later work. In 1967, she enrolled at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, where, in 1972, she would return as a master student.
In 1974 and 1979, Birgit wrote letters to DuMont, a German publisher, asking them to publish an anthology of women artists. Both requests were denied. However, she continued her feminist activism throughout her career.
The common themes of Birgit’s work, such as disguise, transformation and suppression, are often explored in relation to women. Her ‘Hausfrauen – Küchenschürze’ (‘Housewives – Kitchen Apron’) is a photograph of her wearing an oven as an apron. She stands upright, betraying no sign of discomfort, despite the cumbersome outfit she models. This disturbing fusion between women and household seems to question the tradition of restricting women to the domestic sphere.
‘Hausfrauen – Küchenschürze’ was first presented at VALIE EXPORT’s ‘MAGNA – Feminism: Art and Creativity’ exhibition in 1975. Alongside VALIE and other female artists, Birgit later protested the all-male judging panel at another exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum. In 1988, she co-founded ‘DIE DAMEN’ (‘THE LADIES’), with whom she collaborated to create and distribute small forms of feminist art, such as postcards, to the public.
As well as a prolific artist who curated numerous exhibitions, Birgit taught at the University of Applied Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. In 2001, she was diagnosed with a pancreatic tumour and died two years later. In 2014, a traffic area in Floridsdorf was named after her (‘Jürgenssenweg’) to honour her cultural legacy in Vienna.
Quotes (from Estate Birgit Jürgenssen)
“Women are so often objects of art, and rarely and reluctantly they are allowed to speak or create their own images. I would like to have the opportunity to compare myself not only with colleagues, but also with female colleagues.”
“It is necessary to simply do convincing work; perhaps female artists sometimes have to react in a more artistic way.”
“The problems and questions in the feminist movement in the 1970s have changed to those of the 1980s. The naturalness with which women express themselves in all areas of art today is different, a positive one. This also has to do with a social development, as the role model for women has changed.”
“It’s the personal achievements that count. In the end, all that remains is the good drawing, the good photo, the good work.”
By Katie Waters
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